


Beacon Hill

by Exiledfromazerath1316



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-14 18:18:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17513543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exiledfromazerath1316/pseuds/Exiledfromazerath1316
Summary: Ten years is too damn long.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some questions I should have answered but was too excited when I posted to note:   
> Ayaka is an OC; I hope to develop her a bit, but she was not in Banana Fish Canon.   
> I plan for this to be a multichapter work, but I'm hoping not to drag it out for too long (I tend to do that).   
> This is post GOL, though I recognize some of the math may be off (Not my strong suite).   
> I'm trying to stick reasonably close to canon...with some creative liberties of course

“Eiji, are you listening to me? Eiji?” Eiji’s eyes twitched, lifting from his water glass to the man sitting across from him. Lunch untouched and ice in his cup long melted, Eiji was unsure of how long he he had lost track of himself. At twenty nine years old, he thought he would have these drifts in thoughts under control by now. 

Sing sighed, pushing the remaining noodles in his bowl around with his chopsticks. He thought that perhaps going to a traditional Japanese restaurant would be the best way to cheer Eiji up before broaching a difficult subject; all it seemed to do was close Eiji in on himself again. 

“Oh, forgive me Sing, I think I just...what were you saying?” Eiji straighten up before adjusting his thin wired glasses, long dark hair falling in his face again. Sing shook his head before looking down again. 

“I was trying to ask how you and Ayaka were doing. She told Akira that you two were getting quite serious.” Eiji raised an eyebrow before picking up his chopsticks. He twirled the small wood pieces in his fingers before speaking. 

“Well, I’m not sure where she’s getting that idea; We’ve only been seeing each other for two years.” He shrugged before picking a piece of vegetable from his cooled soup. Sing raised an eyebrow. 

“That’s not what she’s telling Akira.” Newly weds Sing and Akira worked hard on maintaining open communication with each other, haunted by the last time Sing did not communicate with his brother, Lao. Due to this, Sing often hears about Akira’s friends and coworkers, especially Ayaka Yoshimura, Eiji’s only steady girlfriend he’s had in years. Ayaka was a sweet woman; Twenty Five years old and finishing her Medical Degree at New York University. Quiet, meek, and observant, Akira honestly thought the two of them would hit it off instantly; they seemed so alike on the surface after all. She modeled briefly for Eiji’s photography between semesters before boldly asking him out on a date. Sing remembered Ayaka saying she thought she would faint when she finally asked. She said Eiji had smiled and agreed, and they had been steadily dating for almost two years. 

“You know how girls can be, Sing. My sister is the same way.” Eiji paused, pushing his water glass to his lips. Sing paused for a long moment before inhaling deeply. 

“She’s talking about marriage, Eiji. She thinks you’re going to propose by the time she finishes med school.” Eiji paused, hunching his shoulders over and placing his utensils down next to his bowl. 

“I’m not sure where she got that idea.” Eiji stated again, looking down at his food. 

“Well, two years is pretty long for someone like her, Eiji. I mean, even Akira and I didn’t date for that long before we got married.” 

Eiji shrugged. “But you two knew each other a lot longer.” His rebuttal was weak and his voice gave that away. 

Sing leaned forward into the table, holding his voice steady and low. The table creaked under his weight, glassware clinking as he moved. 

“Eiji, do you even like Ayaka?” He asked, slowly. Eiji was quick to answer. 

“Of course I do.” 

“Do you love her?” Sing probed further. Eiji continued to avoid eye contact. 

“Sure.” 

“Enough to marry her?” He didn’t answer, leading Sing to sigh and lean back against the booth’s red plastic chair. 

“Look, man, I get it. It's not an easy decision to make. But if you’re not even considering it, I think it would be best to just let Ayaka know. She’s expecting to go back to Japan one day with a husband...and I think she would be really disappointed if she put all of her eggs in one basket, you know?”

Eiji raised his eyes to meet Sings, radiating doubt so heavily Sing could feel it in his chest. The sunlight from the restaurant window danced over Eiji’s dark hair, showing streaks of brown embedded in the black locks. His brown sad eyes sparkled under the light. 

“Well, maybe marrying Ayaka wouldn’t be that bad...I mean, she’s sweet...and really smart….and we get along well....” 

“It wouldn’t be fair to trick her into a loveless marriage, Eiji. You’re not that kind of guy, c’mon.” He tapped his fingers on the red and gold tablecloth while he spoke. “If you’re not in love with her after two years, let her find someone else who could.” 

“Two years is not that much time, Sing.” Eiji protested, fumbling with his white cloth napkin, wrapping it around his fingers over and over again. Sing’s retort came out faster than his brain could stop his mouth. 

“You were more invested in Ash and you didn’t even know him for eighteen months.” Sing regretted his words instantly, watching Eiji pull into himself again, dropping his eyes. 

“That’s different, and you know it Sing.” He whispered quietly. Sing crossed his arms for a moment before releasing them and placing a hand over Eiji’s. 

‘Yeah, I know. Look I didn’t want to upset you or anything. I just wanted to bring this to your attention. I wasn’t convinced that you two were on the same page and I don’t want anyone getting hurt. You’re both good people, Eiji, and you both deserve to be happy. But if you don’t make eachother happy, then, well, you simply don’t.”

Eiji nodded before silently standing up. He gently pulled out his wallet and placed some dollar bills on the table and grabbed his coat. 

“Thanks, Sing, for letting me know...I should get back to work...Catch you later?” Sing looked up from the table and nodded, allowing Eiji to quietly vacate the restaurant without any fuss. 

As the door’s rigged bell rang quietly with Eiji’s exit, Sing looked down at the table; Eiji had left enough money to cover both of their meals again. Sing clenched his fists, reminded of where most of Eiji’s money had come from before quietly leaving the restaurant himself and slipping out onto the busy New York City streets. Crisp wind hit his thin face, causing him to wrap his scarf tighter around his neck and face. January weather was certainly making its presence known on the East Coast this year. 

Ten years ago, Ash was announced dead. No formal funeral was held, but Blanca paid for his cremation. Ash left behind his entire inheritance from Papa Dino to Eiji, much to everyone’s shock but not necessarily surprise. It hadn’t occurred to everyone until the week of the cremation how much time and effort Ash had put into his affairs before he died; he paid for a proper headstone for Skipp and helped Shorter’s family pay off old debts. Sing wasn’t sure how much money was left in Eiji’s name, but it was enough to send Ibe and Max flying out of their seats that day. Eiji invested in some real estate between New York and Cape Cod, but had disclosed to Sing that he hadn’t even made a dent in the inheritance. Other than the property he owned and his photography business, Eiji lived relatively modestly. 

While Sing was sure the money was appreciated, he know that Eiji would rather be living on the streets with Ash by his side than live in excessive wealth without him. He wondered if Ayaka knew about the money, or about Ash in general. Probably not. Sing and Eiji don’t really speak about those days anymore. There was too much shame and pain left in the dust of his gang days. Eiji and Sing agreed that they had to let those days go during Cain Blood’s funeral. 

Luckily, there weren’t many people still around who remembered those times; most had either died or moved away, or simply swore themselves to secrecy like Eiji and Sing. It was easier this way to leave the ghosts where they belong.


	2. Chapter 2

New York City never sleeps. At least that is what Ash and Shorter always said. Eiji couldn’t believe the activity at two in the morning; back home, everything was silent enough to hear cicadas sing by ten.   
It was one of the good nights; one of the nights where Ash didn’t have anyone chasing him for a moment, and Eiji wasn’t in danger. It was a moment for them to breathe, and to be teenagers, if not just for the moment.   
Nineteen years old and Eiji had never really been out after dark. Why bother? But that night, when Ash grabbed Eiji’s hand and pulled him into an old rickety diner, hair glistening under the flickering fluorescent lights, Eiji couldn’t have felt more excited.   
“Coffee and pie” Ash had insisted, “If you come to America, you need to have pie and real coffee, none of this Starbucks shit.”   
The waitress was young, with a college textbook sitting on the counter by the kitchen and gave Eiji a bright smile before placing the cups of coffee in front of the boys. Her arm brushed his shoulder as she walked by; Ash broke out into a devilish smirk.   
“I think she likes you, Eiji.” He snickered. Eiji blushed, bringing up his hands in defense; Ash just continued to laugh, even when the girl brought their cherry pie.   
“You ever think about dating, Eiji?” Ash quipped, bringing the coffee to his lips. 

 

Remnants of snow crunched under Eiji’s feet, and he almost cursed himself for not wearing proper winter boots out today. He could feel his hands starting to chap in the cold wind before shoving them deep into his coat pockets. His hair flew in the wind and Eiji once again considered cutting it all off; He wasn’t even sure why he let it get this long in the first place. His chest felt heavy as he considered Sing’s argument. 

Ash’s ghost was always in the back of Eiji’s mind, silently watching him from afar and somehow influencing much of his regular behavior, but he hadn’t been in the forefront in some time. He had been so preoccupied with his work as of late that he rarely had time to dwell on the past like he generally did. He thought of Ayaka and guilt pricked at his heart. Sing was right, like he usually was; Eiji just wasn’t prepared to deal with it. He had almost hoped that this day would never come where he would have to make a real choice about his personal life. His thirtieth birthday was around the corner after all, he should have had a plan years ago. He struggled to plan more than a few months in advanced. 

He silently remembered where he got that trait from. 

Eiji jogged up the staircase to his studio and fumbled with his keys. He didn’t have much else to do today; just answer a few emails and letters and then he could go home for the day. Maybe he could take Buddy down to the dog park while it was still light out…

Eiji flicked the lights on in his studio’s office. The light green walls were supposed to be lucky, according to Sing, but Eiji often contemplated changing the coloring. 

His laptop sat where he left it, open and darkened with a screensaver on his desk. Paperwork littered the rest of the deskspace. 

He dropped his body into his leather desk chair turning towards his computer. He looked down at the large peace plant that Ayaka gave him last Christmas sitting by his large office window. It had still flowered into large, white vase-like flowers. Guilt began to prickle against his heart again, causing him to turn his eyes towards his sleeping laptop.   
His eyes lazily scanned over the various business emails; invitations and proposals, charity donation request, answering them with slow, unenthusiastic clicks of his fingers on the keys.   
His eyes paused on an email address that he didn’t recognize reading the following:

 

Dear Mr. Okumura,   
Please forgive the informality of an email, I am an art collector coming back to the United States and have heard wonders of your work. I appreciate the lightness and darkness contracts you show of New York City. I plan to attend your upcoming galla and would be delighted to meet your acquaintance. I feel we may be able to make a good relationship.   
I look forward to meeting you,   
Best Regards,   
Jayden Reese. 

Eiji raised an eyebrow, before forwarding the email to his assistant, Sarah. He requested the assistant make sure the gentleman is on the attendance list and had a seat at the gala. The name seemed odd, but it was always nice to find another interested party. 

Jayden Reese. The name tickled something in the back of his mind. Maybe he had read about this guy somewhere. The name felt familiar, somehow. 

The night of the galla always nerve wracking for Eiji; this was a time for investors and buyers and news reporters to poke their nose into Eiji’s little life. He hated the excessive attention, but that comes with having your dream career. 

His bow tie felt constricting and he hated the damn thing. His assistant and other workers in the galla buzzing like bees setting up the lighting and refreshments. 

“Hey Boss, where do you want these?” Startled Eiji turned to see old friend Bones behind him, a light fixture supported in his thin arms. Six years sober and he still couldn’t gain weight if his life depended on it. 

“Over by the west wing, B...and please don’t call me Boss.” Bones waddled off, clutching the large fixture close to his chest.  
“Whatever you say Bo...Eiji…” It was true, most of Ash’s gang were long gone and Eiji had tried to keep his distance. But when Bones showed up to Eiji’s studio, one year sober and two years free of gang life asking for work, how could Eiji have said no? Alex was still around as well, but Eiji maintained very little contact. 

Sarah approached Eiji within minutes after, a large vase of flowers in tow by a delivery man behind him. 

“Mr. Okumura, these just arrived for you… Where would you like them?” Eiji stared at the weird arrangement; odd would be an understatement. Roses, Sunflowers? Spider lilies? What was this purple flower he didn’t recognize? Who would think to put these items together? 

There was an envelope attached, but Eiji didn’t feel he had the time to read it at the moment. 

“Oh...um...please, put them in my office by the window. Thank you.” Sarah nodded before leading the delivery man across the studio. 

When the gala opened and the mob of guests funneled in, Eiji was swept away in small talk and business conversation. Dozens of unrecognizable faces would fade in and out of his view, asking him many of the same questions over and over again. 

It was already feeling too warm, too crowded, too bright for such a late afternoon. He could feel a cold sweat starting to form on his neck. By the time Sing and Akira showed up, he couldn’t wait to go home, honestly. 

“Mr. Okumura!” Sarah eagerly praced towards Eiji with a tall, dark haired man in tow. 

“This is Mr. Reese, he has already purchased one of your pieces!” Eiji saw the man’s hand, held out to shake before he looked up to see his face. 

“It’s a pleasure, Mr. Okumura.” Eiji raised his eyes to meet the gentleman but froze when he saw the deep, jade green. 

This man looked so much like…

Eiji’s feet started to sway beneath him… It was too hot...too bright...too crowded…too green… The man’s face started to blur as did everyone else's. 

His eyes rolled into the back of his head, hearing Sing call out his name before losing all of his senses and collapsing to the ground. 

“Eiji! What the hell?!” 

When Eiji could feel his body again, he was laying down straight, head propped up. He was on his office’s couch. Who was under him? 

Akira had Eiji’s head laying on her thighs as her legs draped off the couch. Bones had a cold compress shoved against his forehead. Sing was at the door of the office, reassuring Sarah and others. 

Did he faint? Since when does he faint? 

“Oh, he’s coming to...Eiji-San, are you alright?” Akira asked, her one perfectly quaffed short hair now disheveled. She adjusted herself to be able to look at his face. Bones released the compress, allowing Akira to move it behind Eiji’s neck. 

“You hit the ground pretty hard, Boss. Scared the shit out of Sarah. I thought she was gonna pass out too.” 

Eiji adjusted his neck, seeing the large flower arrangement on his desk. 

“Hey, Akira, what kind of flowers are those? The blue ones?” He asked, slowly. Akira paused for a moment, caught off guard by the seemingly random question before shrugging “I’m not too sure, honestly. Flowers aren’t my thing.” 

“I know!” Bones exclaimed. “Those are called “Forget-Me-Nots” I’m pretty sure!” 

“Hmm...Forget me nots?” An odd arrangement indeed. 

By the time Eiji had collected himself, Mr. Reese was long gone. Surely he had just overreacted. Ash couldn’t have been the only person in the world with that color or eyes, right? That was ridiculous to assume. Somehow, the rest of the evening went without another issue, and Eiji was able to go home and spend the remainder of the night in his bed, staring at the ceiling and remembering those jaded eyes. 

When he went back to the office the next day, he spent the majority of the day mindless cleaning his camera and lenses, still lost in his thoughts. 

Eiji’s fascination with cameras and photography hit him hard and fast. Once Ibe had introduce him to the creative possibilities and to his first camera, he was in love. 

His favorite subject? Ash. 

He had taken dozens of photos of Ash over the course of their two years together. But Ash hadn’t always been on board. 

“Eiji, get that camera out of my face, you can’t possibly need any more of my ugly mug.” Eiji had pinned Ash down on his rickety cot, straddling Ash’s hips between his legs. 

“You have such a profile, Ash. You’re easy to photograph and I need practice,” he smiled, holding the camera up towards his nose. 

“Besides, you are...how do they say it? Beautiful.” 

Ash propped himself up on his elbows, smirking slightly. 

“You really think so, Eiji? Does that make up for me being such a terrible person?” 

Eiji lowered the camera tentatively, leaning downward towards Ash. 

“Max said to me once...that survivors are going to survive. He said when someone is at risk, they may do bad things, but that does not make them bad people. You’re not a terrible person, Ash; You are a survivor. I don’t think anyone could convince me otherwise.” 

Ash stared up at Eiji for what felt like a long time, wide eyes full of thoughts that Eiji couldn’t read before he bridged the gap between them and pressed his lips against Eiji’s. Eiji could feel his face heat up almost immediately. Ash’s lips left his almost as quickly as they had arrived, but Eiji’s brain was still turning.

Ash grinned before reaching a hand up and caressing Eiji’s dark hair “I don’t know how I could ever entertain the thought that I could live without you.” 

 

“Mr. Okumura, you have a visitor,”Sarah’s cheerful voice radiated from the doorway of the studio’s office. “Do you have a moment?”   
Eiji didn’t immediately turn around before answering. He peered up at the clock before making a decision.   
“Sure, send them in.” 

He didn’t receive his visitor for long enough that he went back to cleaning his camera. When the calm male voice floated from the doorway, Eiji was startled. 

“When you had promised me forever...did you really mean forever?” Eiji turned from his desk, camera in hand. Mr. Reese standing in his office doorway, hands in his pockets and a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Pardon me?” Eiji asked, slowly. Staring at Mr. Reese’s smirking face again clearly, he realized he hadn't it been mistaken at the gala. This man looked exactly like…

Mr. Reese started to unbutton the bottom half of his navy dress shirt, exposing his abdomen. 

A thin but lengthy puckered scar stuck out among others on the side of his stomach. 

“Don’t you see it? Can’t you see me...Eiji?” 

Time froze. Eiji’s body slowly went numb, his fingers tightened against the square corners of his camera, denting into the pads of his fingers. His widened eyes darted to the flowers in the vase in his office window; Nine red Roses. Sunflowers. Forget-Me-Nots. Red Spider Lilies. It wasn’t just an odd arrangement of flowers; it was a message.

A message that shouldn’t have gone unnoticed. When had he become so blind? When did he shut him out from his world?

Jayden Reese. Jade Callenreese. Ash. 

“A...Ash.” The name fell from his lips in a whisper. Ash opened his arms wide, slowly stepping towards him.

“Eiji.” He replied back, stronger in tone, despite his voice cracking deep in his throat. “You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this...” 

Eiji’s legs were bolted to the floor, heart pounded in his throat. His stomach was clenching so hard, he was convinced he would vomit. 

The man who claimed to be his long lost friend slowly reached forward, placing his hands gently on Eiji’s shoulders. 

The touch slapped Eiji’s brain, thrusting him back into reality; If Ash was alive, that that meant that the entire narrative of their lives since that day in the New York City Library was completely wrong. 

He reached up, pressed his hands against Ash’s chest and pushed hard against him, causing Ash to stumble back a few steps. 

“I’m sorry Sir, there must be a misunderstanding….There is no way you could… Sumima- I mean, excuse me.” Great, now he was mincing his languages again. His feet pressed into the floor like his shoes were made of iron, firmly stepping around the dark haired visitor and out of the studio. 

Ash turned around, eyes winced in distressed.

“Eiji wait! Hold on! Let me explain! Eiji!” Eiji could hear the distress in his voice, so familiar. It sounded just like him. Eiji couldn’t hear anything with his heart beating in his ears. Ash couldn’t have lied to him like this. Ash couldn’t have left Eiji with this unrelenting grief for ten years. 

Ash couldn’t have left him all alone like this. 

Eiji brought his hands to his face as he quickened his pace down the steps and around the street corner, hoping that maybe if he gripped his head tight enough, his mind would stop spinning. 

The nausea elevated, send Eiji hurtling towards an alleyway. His ears flushed as his stomach continued to lurch and dry heave against the trashed debris and plastic garbage bins. He clutched his stomach, begging his body to stop,for his mind to stop...Just for a moment. 

He stumbled to straighten up, pushing his hair from his eyes up over his damp forehead. It was all starting to hit him at once; every single tear, every rip in his heart, his soul, every sleepless night for the last ten years came flooding back to him. 

By the time he had made it back to his home, the sweat had started to dry on his brow. His shaky hands fumbled with his keys. As his fingers settled on the right key, he heard the final footstep of his follower behind him. He had known he was trailing him; why didn’t he stop him? 

“Eiji….” His voice broke, slowly following Eiji up the steps. Why did he allow him into his home? Why couldn’t he just tell this man to go away? 

“Please….Let me explain…I had to start over… Blanca and I were only thinking about you.” Eiji turned around, now in his kitchen, tears finally overflowing down his cheeks. He raised his arms up, voice elevating; it was taking everything in him to maintain self control and not start screaming in his native tongue. 

“How dare you! Do you have any idea?! How many nights I spent replaying that day in my head...Replaying that whole year in my head….Trying to figure out how I could have changed what had happened...To have saved you….” 

Ash’s face morphed from ashamed to haunted, the jade in his eyes cracking with tears. 

“Eiji I….I had to… It was my only option….I-I couldn’t be with you while I was Ash Lynx.”

Eiji removed his glasses, clumsily tossing them on his kitchen table, before wiping his face with the palms of his hands. 

“What does that even mean?!” 

Anger and grief mixed in his chest like mixed paint. Eiji bent over, supporting his body with his hands on his knees. 

“Do you know how many times I had wanted to follow you? Just leave everything behind and go with you? Do you understand how many times Sing had to...Jesus Christ…” 

He pulled himself upward, his shoulders slung forward, eyes staring at the moisture palms of his hands. 

“The endless hours of grief counseling…Years of guilt...And yet I still...My.-My heart still throbbed when I saw you.”

Brown eyes overflowing with tears as he pulled them up to match the green irises in front of him. 

“My heart still lives for you.” 

 

Ash’s hands slowly cupped Eiji’s face, pushing his long black hair from his face. With one single movement, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Eiji’s. 

Eiji’s lips melted into Ash, feeling his body melt as well. Eiji’s body began to sink; his camera falling from his fingertips and crashing to the floor. The flash of the camera’s shutter went almost unnoticed as Ash’s arms encased Eiji’s waist, holding him upward and steady as his knees gave away beneath him. 

The fireworks that sparked in Eiji’s chest only confirmed his beliefs; his body had never reacted this way to anyone else. 

It was him. It was really, truly, unquestionably Ash. 

"I won't ask for forever. Just for now."

Suddenly his lower back was hitting his kitchen counter, contents that cluttered the top of it. He could feel Ash’s fingers tracing the skin between his risen shirt and the waist of his jeans. It was only when Ash lifted Eiji onto the kitchen table and positioned himself between his legs that Eiji’s face and chest began to flush. He and Ash had never been physical before; not like this. Eiji never thought he would get to experience this; Ash’s kisses, his touch, it had all been imaginary to him before; a dream. Ash had always been uncomfortable with sex; he never spoke about it, unless it was an offhand comment about the abuse he went through. Eiji never blamed him for it and honestly never expected Ash to become comfortable with it. So when Ash died, it didn’t occur to him again. 

Died.   
Right. Ash didn’t die. He vanished, like a phoenix engulfed in flames; and now he was here, arisen from the ashes. Right here, in his arms and between his knees.   
Maybe he fell asleep at the office; this could all be a dream right? 

“Forever.”

“Eiji..” Ash whispered as his lips tickled Eiji’s ear. “You don’t know how long...How much I’ve...What I had to…”

Eiji ran his hands through Ash’s darkened hair. He missed the gold. 

“You dyed your hair.” He stated plainly, nuzzling his face in his neck. He needed Ash’s scent; more evidence that he was there. 

“Yeah.” He murmured, lips tracing Eiji’s collarbone, fingers slowly lifting his partner’s shirt higher to run his fingers over more skin. 

Eiji closed his eyes, stiffing a moan. When was the last time he moaned? Had he ever? 

“I hate it.” He grumbled. Ash was quick to reply. 

“So do I.”


End file.
